Having some information on the Mexican war called "The Cristero War" will help anyone understand this novel since it seems the novel is talking about that war (without) mention. Also a little info on the dynamics on how society function back then, Pedro Paramo is an Hacienda owner back then the rich and wealthy literally owned the whole town and they lived in big Haciendas, most of the towns people generally worked for the business of these rich men. Similar to feudal times. Then each town had 1 church and people had to give 10% of their income and the town's church generally survived due to the rich Hacienda owner in this case Pedro Paramo... eventually the priest of that church felt between two walls since the poor would confess stuff (and he knew of all that the corrupt Hacendados dad to these people) and the rich Haciendas whom they needed to survived.

I couldn't read anything else for 2 years after reading this...it left a very strong impression on me it's truly a masterpiece but what strucks me most compared to other novels is that its also a poetry book one can randomly open any page or paragraph and it's like reading a poem

This is the best review of Pedro Páramo in English language, even in Spanish sometimes you don't know who is the narrator for a certain time but once you realize who is talking you come back and the meaning gets more profound. Amazing book, amazing review

I kind of left the book with the same feelings as you did, especially because of Juan. They all die in the end, including Juan who was just trying to find his past. And more than that: it seems he found no peace in his grave. Are we guilty of our past (our ancestors)? Are we talking about the original sin here? I love your reviews! You really inspire me and encourage me to do more with my readings. Thank you for that!

Thank you for taking the time for your work! Your analysis has helped me to better understand aspects that were confusing to me in the plot. I’ve approached reading and understanding this book at different times over 40 years ago. Over time, now in my 60’s, my understanding and perspective has been altered based upon my life changes. I grew up in Guadalajara and in the summer we’d spend months in my fathers “rancho” where the language, stories, personalities and landscape are described by Juan Rulfo. Though I’ve spent most of my life in the U.S., it’s impossible to forget those remarkable memories that resonate reading the book again. Having returned for funerals a few times, the stories of men like Don Paramo are vivid and real. From my mothers family side, my grandfather fought on the government side during the Cristero war in Zacatecas, and in his 90’s his memory was full of stories about the battles. My great grandmother was one of those many women of a “Pedro Paramo” in her pueblo and I often heard unforgettably tragic and sad stories that as I read the book I feel emotions rising within me. I watched the movie recently and it did bring to life a few aspects that made it easier to understand but I also found it detached from the emotional turmoil that a Pedro Paramo can cause. Reading Rulfo’s stories in El Llano en Llamas is such an interesting experience as I recall these descriptions in the people and places I often encountered in rural Mexico. Again, thank you your time and analysis to explore this fascinating story.

ALL approaches are FINE & WELCOME!!! I love when I see nice guys like you exploring our Latino literature. OK, now, get off the comal and go for a cold one!! Cheers, compadre!!

In Mexico, a lot of us feel that it takes 3 readings to understand the novel. You can read it once, or twice, no problem, but the level of understanding goes way up at the third reading. I will not spoil the story by revealing secrets, but i will say that it is a very respected novel in all latin america.

Though I haven't read this novel, hearing the plot alone, I can see how Faulkner would come up. It is funny how much I will hear Faulkner in other stories, while at the same time, Faulkner's style can't be replicated. Great review!

Did anyone else get the impression that Juan Preciado was dead the entire time? For one he says that he never intended to go but that his head began swimming and his imagination took flight before he knew it and then he came to Comala. To me this is kind of like an end of life vision. Then later he says that the picture of his mother which he keeps close to his heart has a hole he could put his middle finger through, which arguably is descriptive of a bullet hole. I also didn't see the place as purgatory but in fact as hell. At least in terms of Dante's divine comedy, which I'm sure Rulfo was familiar with, in purgatory you ascend a mountain aided by the prayers of your loved ones, whereas in hell you descend further and further into a valley reliving your sins and no one prays for you. The description of Comala reminds me of Dante's description of the seventh circle of hell, a plain of hot dry sand reserved for those who do violence against God. In the context of the Cistero War (where the church fought against anti-clerical laws in the constitution) and in the context of Renteria's corruption and his frequent refusal to offer last rights unless they please or pay him, I think it's important to note that the town, it's people, and its descendants aren't in a place where through prayerful penitence they can hope to find salvation. For the sins of Pedro Paramo the place is condemned and forsaken. I can see that I"m several years late to this comment thread but I'm hoping someone will weigh in lol

See thats what im talking about. That opening is so clean. Im paying attention much more now that I'm trying to edit further. Ok back to the review!

Thank you so much for this video! Helped me a lot to understand it, also great analysis. At first I didn't like the book, I believe it's badly written but I must say you have changed my mind (Maybe I just needed to understand it)

Really good you mentioned the elements of tragedy. Seldom do I see someone approaching a novel this way. 👍

Hello, I'm writing this at the beginning of the video and I don't know if you'll address this later on. I also haven't seen any comments about it, so I think it's worth mentioning. "Comala", the fictional place in which the story takes place, it's a pun on the word "comal", which is a rounded and flat piece of metal, ceramic, or other materials, that is used in Mexican cuisine to cook or to heat stuff. The fact that the town is called "Comala" and it's located in the middle of the desert has been interpreted (or at least I have seen it interpreted) not as a purgatory, but as literal hell, which is something that I've always found interesting

I buddy read this w Stephanie Cohen, last year, finally (it was recommended to me, years ago), and adored it . I'm w ya, Una, but will have to get back to this, afterwork, tonight 😁

When my dad passed my mind drfted in time. From my Childhood to his. From the days we lived un Tepatitlán and my sister was very i'll to México city were I had a terrible depression and thought all the time of conmiting suicide. Inside our minds time is almost like they wind in a dry poor country.

One of my favorite books. A top ten for me. I think of it often. The never knowing if the narrator is dead or alive if the people talking are dead or alive, of the scenery is real, or mirage, The veil of time rent and we float in the that liminal space. Sometimes I just open it up and read a few pages. The language is fantastic and the imagery vivid. I have on occasion walked through a city with myriads of people coming and going and viewed it in a thought experiment as if it was Pedro Paramo ... altering my perspective on what I am seeing, hearing, and experiencing. This book widely known in the Spanish speaking world is like much of the poetry and literature of the Spanish Golden Age ... unknown to the English reading audience.

You guys are fantastic. I started reading Pedro Paramo and within a few pages I thought "Faulkner"! and then straight away the guys who introduced me to this amazing package of literature. So I looked up Codex Cantina and there it was. Now a book that I thought I could read in a day will be studied intensely, read, re- read with your help. I'm so glad that I finished The Divine Comedy too so Hell, Purgatory, Paradise and beautiful Gates have a lot of extra meaning attached. I've only read thre first chapter so far so looking forward to an amazing trip together through Comala.

There is a movie that could help you a lot to get a clearer picture of Pedro Páramo. John Gavin is Pedro Páramo in the film.

Héctor Camarena Baes. He was a landowner in Tepatitlán Jalisco. Those Pedro Páramos do existed.

I've read Faulkner and I see absolutely no comparison, I like Faulkner, good stories but Faulkner does not write in poetic form. One must read the whole book (Faulkner) to get those wow moments, as with most novels. For example reading just one single page or paragraph of a Faulkner novel leaves the reader uninspired, has no meaning since most paragraphs are to "build up" the novel or events. In comparison, Pedro paramo is almost like a poetry book, one does not need to read the whole novel to get something out of it, like in poetry one can just read a single paragraph and feel something. I have tested this, while at dinner I took out Pedro Paramo and randomely opened pages and read some paragraphs out loud to people and they all got it, doing that with other novels is impossible, single paragraphs would make no sense. You know how we yellow mark when we read something inspiring? generally a novel has a few great quotes, I dare anyone to do that with pedro paramo and it being such a short novel one will end up with the entire novel in yellow marks Lol Here are some random paragraph "There you'll find the place I love most in the world. The place where I grew thin from dreaming. My village, rising from the plain. Shaded with trees and leaves like a piggy bank filled with memories. You'll see why a person would want to live there forever. Dawn, morning, mid-day, night: all the same, except for the changes in the air. The air changes the color of things there. And life whirs by as quiet as a murmur...the pure murmuring of life" --- There was no air; only the dead, still night fired by the dog days of August. Not a breath. I had to suck in the same air I exhaled, cupping it in my hands before it escaped. I felt it, in and out, less each time…until it was so thin it slipped through my fingers forever. I mean, forever -- The sky was filled with fat stars, swollen from the long night. The moon had risen briefly and then slipped out of sight. It was one of those sad moons that no one looks at or pays attention to. It had hung there a while, misshapen, not shedding any light, and then gone to hide behind the hills.

Love what you guys are doing, any plans to brave Lolita?

A friend from Mexico called and said "Let's start a lockdown book club!" He sent me a copy of Pedro Paramo in English. Amazing! He already knew I loved Faulker and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would to read an annotated version in Spanish for the English speaking student.

This book is right there with Cervantes and Lope de Vega

There's a Comala in the dark tower too right?

@25:25 Man-made law is to morality like subjectivity is to the law of nature (natural law being objective truth). In other words, just because men get together to write down some legalise and vote it into "law" (through modern methods of hocus pocus), does not automatically equate to being morally just in reality. Examples would be laws that protect acts of murder, seizures of property(theft/taxation), etc. I know this has little to do with the book you're discussing, but I am quite intrigued by discussions that touch upon this subject matter. #LFLR "VBW"

Every time he says Eduviges I wince a little bit lol

Ever since the first time I read Pedro Páramo I understood why Juan Rulfo just wrote 2 books. He poured his soul into them. Too tiring. Too overwelming. I do not need more of his books. I am so grateful for his books.

I reead the novei a few years ago. I also write fiction and have had about 10 short stories published. That was about four years ago. I suddenly lost all interest in writing. I said to myself what's the point. Nobody cares. I just started reading the book again and I feel it has reignited my desire to write because there is no way to understand life deeply without a book such as this one.

Comala is a just a name

Immoral or amoral? At first it's easy to say immoral, but after thinking about it, I just might go woth amoral. Does Don Pedro live by what society says is moral or does he have his own set of values. Maybe morality doesn't apply to him at all then. Great question!

Comala is not a grill, it's a real town. A comal is not exactly a grill, it's more like a solid metal flat solid plate for cooking tortillas or reheating them.

I think this book is not so much about history or about scarcety it is a book about subconscius. About the things we daré not to say when we are alive and si they come out when we die.

So, an odd pun, Comala IS a made up word and it does derive from the word 'comal.' So, yes. We don't use the phase 'out of the frying pan into the fire' but it is implying that the place is burning. You did not misunderstand that. There are a lot of scenes that seem normal but then something otherworldly happens. The men who were talking on the hill after an event in the book who vanish into the wind. This implied to me that the book was a combination of flashbacks and ghosts repeating the events of the past. We don't know who is alive and who is dead. What is happening and what already did. I recommend you watch the 1960's movie. It's on youtube and even if your spanish is mediocre at best you read the book so you'll get the gist of things. It's not a page for page iteration, lots and lots of changes, but it will give you a visual look at things you might not be able to see otherwise and it is still faithful enough to the book that you will know what is happening. The 1980's version is also available on youtube so if you get curious I say go for it, too.

This English translation is a disgrace for this book. So may typos, so many poor punctuations, ... I simply couldn't read the book. After managing to ge to the page 30, I had to give up and free myself from the torture. I wish I could read this in the original Spanish.